We got to know the Burmese race some years ago, as we owned one called 'Miwer'. He lived with us for many years and we were very taken with his temperament. He was only half Burmese, so when he died we hoped we would find another cat with his wonderful temperament, and so we did.

Temperament
The Burmese is a very affectionate and social creature, which becomes strongly attached to its human companions; it takes an active interest in their lives and is more than willing to help with tasks such as reading the newspaper, cooking, etc.
    Burmese cats are always delighted when their human companions invite guests, and will quickly find the person who least likes cats, and will attempt to do everything possible to get that person to change his/her mind.
    Your mind can be at rest when Burmese are together with small children, and it is the cat, not the child, which will find the going rough and disappear for a while. It will soon be back for more, however, as curiosity will get the better of it.
    This special curiosity is demonstrated by leaping into open drawers and cupboards. One of our cats, Elle, once jumped into the refrigerator, but once burned twice shy, so she no longer does that.
    Burmese love to jump and climb and find the highest vantage point. Some of them even balance elegantly on the top of an open door, which you can see from the photographs of Duchesse (see the Cat Life site).
    Many Burmese are adept at opening doors, so if you don't want them to do this, you will either have to lock the door or fix the handle so that it is in a vertical position.
    Burmese cats do not like to be alone for too long, so if you can`t be there all the time, it would be a good idea to have two, or even a dog.

Physical features
The Burmese is a beautiful cat. The ideal Burmese has yellow eyes; its head should be broad and round; its nose should be short and in profile there should be a visible nose break. Its ears should be small and with ample space between them. It has an elegant, although muscled and compact body. The silky coat is very fine, short-haired and close-lying. A female normally weighs between 3 to 4 kg., and the male about 1 kg. more.
    The race is recognized officially as having the following colours: brown (see 'Our cats' where Yin is very dark brown); chocolate (see 'Our cats': Elle); blue, lilac (see 'Our cats': Yang and Duchesse), ginger and cream. Females can also be found in four colours (tortieshell): Brown tortoiseshell; chocolate tortoiseshell; lilac tortoiseshell; and blue tortoiseshell.